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Benefits Of Using A Fire Safety Consultancy To Perform A Risk Assessment

In commercial buildings and business buildings, ensuring that you have proper fire safety precautions is paramount. This is not an easy task as most company owners can overlook the most dangerous risks that could lead to potential fires, especially when the premises are visited by a fire inspector who may pick on things you may not have noticed, leading to either a warning or fine, or worse, court appearances. Ensuring the building meets excellent fire safety precautions is therefore not only important for you, but extremely vital for the safety and wellbeing of your customers and employees. Most companies hire the services of a fire safety consultancy to perform risk assessments on their building, below we have listed the benefits that this can bring.

How do they Work?

A fire safety consultancy will carry out a fire risk assessment on your building, covering topics such as evacuation plans, identifying hazards and providing essential documents to inform you of important regulations you have to abide by. What are the other benefits that a fire safety consultancy bring?

A professional consultancy will be able to provide you with the best and accurate advice, with no financial interest in selling you firefighting equipment

Removes the worry of conducting a fire risk assessment yourself, by placing the job in the hands of an expert.

Most consultancies will base their assessment around the needs of your business, providing information that will work to benefit your company.

Most consultants can also act as an acting nominated person, which means they can liaise with enforcing authorities and Fire & Rescue services on your behalf.

How do I choose one?

While the benefits of a consultant are great, you need to know how to select one that will apply these benefits. In order to ensure you have chosen one that will help support your business, you should first look at their credentials, such as their experience of undertaking fire risk assessments for your kind of business. Checking they are competent to perform a risk assessment is also crucial and this can be done through finding if they have certification from a professional body and that they meet the competency criteria established by the Fire Risk Assessment Competency Council. Lastly, you should get a reference from a previous client that work in a premises of your type and ask them if they were satisfied with the consultant.

Another piece of advice is to gather quotes from a range of consultants and make sure they all cover the scope of work you wish to be done. Keep adequate records of the steps you too in selecting your fire risk assessor for future reference.

As you can see, choosing a fire risk assessor can bring some benefits, but you still need to choose a consultancy wisely and ensure they can perform the work on your type of premises. Most consultants can be found through the Fire Risk Assessment Competency Council, this body can recommend professional companies that are UKAS accredited.